Digital BW, The Print

Truth Number 8:

Don't bother printing it unless it is a Kravit-perfect image!

Tom O'Connell

TomOC@...
www.thomasoconnell.com


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Michael Kravit" 
<michael.kravit@w...> wrote:
> Many people ask me how is it that my inkjet prints have an "etched" 
look
> with rich deep blacks and brilliant highlights.  This ability has 
been the
> culmination and development of a number of traditional and digital
> techniques that I have come to use over the years. Well, here it 
is, for the
> very first time I will tell all! ;-)
> 
> The following truths are true. They are not open to discussion, nor 
are they
> the only workflow available. But!, if you want the truth, then here 
it
> is.....;-)
> 
> Truth No. 1
> 
> Use great optics! No buts about it, no discussions no 
arguments....period.
> 
> Truth No. 2
> 
> Shoot your film and learn the Zone system. I am not an advocate of 
testing,
> but you need to know what your materials will do.
> 
> Truth No. 3
> 
> Process your negatives in a staining Pyro developer. This is a 
religion and
> I fully understand that. BUT, you wanted the truth, so here it is. 
Process
> your negatives in PMK Pyro. The stain acts fills in between the 
grain
> proportionately, That is, more stain builds up in the areas where 
there is
> less silver and less stain in areas where there is more silver. 
And, most
> importantly the negatives will have very high accutance and will 
exhibit
> strong edge effects. You will see a fine black line along areas of 
tonal
> change. The negatives will glow and so will your prints. Especially 
so with
> low light situations, soft light, and fog!
> 
> You may not agree, but hey the truth hurts!
> 
> Truth No. 4
> 
> No matter how good your service bureau tells you their new fangled 
Imacon
> is, insist on a drum scan. Insist on a flat scan, that is tell them 
you want
> absolutely NO ADJUSTMENTS. No USM, no contrast adjustments and no 
gamma
> adjustments. Ask them to scan your PMK Pyro negatives as RGB 48 bit 
files.
> Have them scan using a native optical resolution resolution of the 
drum
> scanners that is the smallest resolution that you can use. That is, 
scan at
> 300dpi at the image size rather than at 4000dpi at 1:1. The reason 
for this
> is simple, at the lower dpi settings the drum will not scan the 
grain. If
> you scan at the higher resolutions the drum scanner will adjust the 
aperture
> and will scan right down into the grain and your Tri-X scan will be 
the most
> georgeous example of TX grain you have ever seen.
> 
> This applies to drum scanners omly and may not be applicable to CCD
> scanners.
> 
> Truth No. 5
> 
> Do as many of the tonal, contrast, and gamma adjustments as you can 
in 16
> bit mode. Use duplicate copies of your images to make selections and
> adjustment layers. Then you can copy these selections into the 16 
bit file
> as needed.
> 
> Truth No. 6
> 
> Buy the best paper you can. Saving $0.50 per sheet and buying Epson 
Archival
> (Enhanced) Matte is silly and short sighted. The better papers are 
100%
> Cotton Rag, acid free and will help you obtain deep dense right 
blacks,
> lovely midtones and brilliant highlights.
> 
> Truth No. 7
> 
> Whatever I say here works for me in my studio, in my darkroom, and 
in my
> town. It may not work for you in yours. Technology is changing so 
fast, that
> in 15 minutes everything that I just told you make be untrue!
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "btmcelhaney" <kmcelhaney@t...>
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y...>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 11:25 PM
> Subject: [Digital BW] Re: Piezo Pro 24 RIP
> 
> 
> >
> > >>>>>Images from 35mm Tri-X, scanned at 2800 dpi
> > on Minolta Multi, printed 18x27 on 24x36 Legion Photo Matt.<<<<<<
> >
> >
> > That sounds nearly impossible to do while retaining any kind of
> > quality! What's the secret? I would certainly like to see one of
> > those exibition prints.
> >
> > Bruce McElhaney
> > McElhaney Portrait Studio
> > Livonia, MI
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., toomagenta@a... wrote:
> > > In a message dated 4/2/2002 10:34:38 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> > > butchhul@a... writes:
> > >
> > >
> > > > George,
> > > >
> > > > I am also using a 7000 with the IP4 RIP and MIS-FS inks. Just
> > > > finished framing and hanging a show of prints that I finished
> > this
> > > > past weekend.
> > > Butch,
> > > Thanks for responding to my query.
> > > I am glad to hear from others who are using the system and are
> > happy with it.
> > > Not too many people chimed in, which I am guessing is a sign of
> > lack of usage
> > > rather than dissatisfaction.
> > > Congratulations on your apparent success. I hope your exhibition
> > leads to
> > > many other successes.
> > > (Must also say, Mike Kravit is both a gentleman and a fine 
source
> > > of information for any traveling down this particular road.)
> > > I must agree with you 110% on this point. Not only has he 
offered
> > his
> > > knowlege, experience and expertise, but he has generously 
offered
> > to send a
> > > sample print so I can put an eyeball on the picture!
> > > They say that what goes around, comes around, so I hope some of 
the
> > best
> > > things that come around come back to  Mike.
> > > This list is a pleasure to participate in, and I hope that I can
> > someday
> > > contribute to it in a positive way.
> > > ( Images from 35mm Tri-X, scanned at 2800 dpi
> > > on Minolta Multi, printed 18x27 on 24x36 Legion Photo Matt.)
> > > Sounds like an amazing feat!
> > > Thanks again,
> > > George J Kunze
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
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